Bananas Over Bananas

Bananas are a miracle of nature. They are perfectly wrapped, healthy and biodegradable. Moreover, they are delicious. If they are so perfect then why do I feel so guilty every time I eat one?

The problem started years ago when I was a teenager. I learned that the Banana industry really got a boost decades ago when they began to clone the Banana plants. No, this is not a scene from science fiction. I can actually clone a plant in my own backyard now for just a few dollars.

At my local garden store, I discovered growth hormones in a tube. The instruction suggest you simply take a cutting of the desired plant, dip it into the growth hormone—which comes in a test tube—and then put the cutting in dirt. The principal is based on fooling the cutting to grow roots. This is nothing new, as many plant cuttings readily take root even without hormones. Curly willow trees come to mind as a prime example. So we should not be surprised that corporations started cloning banana plants. They almost incessantly struggle to create and maintain homogeneity. In this case that is uniform bananas.

The earliest step taken was to create monoculture; that was, to create plantations. The idea of monoculture is another subject to tackle altogether, but in nature plants rarely grow in any sizable monoculture. Humans implemented it in order to bring efficiency to agriculture. The science that brought cloning to banana trees took monoculture to the next level. Every tree in the plantation could now be genetically identical.

Being identical is a double edged sword. The tree yielding the largest quantity of uniform fruit can be chosen. This is exactly what business wants. In the world of produce, where shelf lives are short and uniformity is not the norm, sellers found a way to fight back. The real problem is that most consumers want the perfectly shaped, brightest, uniform fruit. This is why business seeks it out; again, another topic altogether.

Using technology to create these perfect bananas seemed genius at first, but consider some of the problems with traditional monoculture. Massive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers become necessary. In the case of genetic uniformity, pests and disease become an incredible threat. If one tree becomes plagued by disease it is highly likely that every tree in that plantation will become ill as well. This can be devastating, so chemical are used to ensure their longevity. This work against nature only requires more chemicals and reduces genetic diversity; a problem that may devastate bananas in the future.

While I find this agitating from a point of sustainability and environmental responsibility, I still enjoy bananas. That enjoyment is waning, especially when I consider the second large issue I take with bananas. Most of the bananas we consume make long journeys to get to us. In fact, bananas are native to Southeast Asia and in 2005 India was the largest producer of bananas more than doubling the output in Brazil.

So when I look at this delectable, ingeniously portable and healthy food item, I see foreign workers. Wielding machetes, they cut bunches of green bananas off trees in hot, humid tropical conditions. I have heard rumors that large spiders live in these bunches. It is an eerie notion I have been unable to shake, but also cannot confirm. Next I see these bananas sorted and packaged. Up to this point the work is likely done by people who work likely work for incredibly low wages, by the American standard. Once the boxes are full, I envision a gigantic ocean liner being stacked with refrigerated containers. Once loaded, it starts pumping out pollution from huge stacks connected to giant diesel engines as it traverses the world’s oceans. Upon arrival in the U.S. the infamous truckers speed the bananas to market, along the way consuming oil and producing smog. When the banana gets to my local store, I see a beautiful display of bananas. To my benefit—or so I thought—bananas usually offered for less than a dollar per pound. I know the majority of the cost is to pay for fuel.

When I buy a banana I know I am just contributing to the problem. The fruit has been shipped so far that I am really just paying for transit; the cost of the actual banana is almost negligible. So am I eating petroleum? From the fertilizers to the ship and later to the truck, I am just prolonging the magic. Bananas are a nice and profitable illusion built up by corporate interests. The truth is that bananas are a poor choice for consumers outside tropical regions. Bananas are not a lone problem, but I am giving them up.

I love bananas, and I will miss them, but anything worth doing is worth doing right. It is clear to me that bananas conflict with my beliefs and so I must take a stand. I urge you to stand with me. At least give it some thought.